U.S. patent application number 13/927943 was filed with the patent office on 2015-01-01 for touch screen and method for adjusting touch sensitive object placement thereon.
The applicant listed for this patent is Honeywell International Inc.. Invention is credited to Martin Dostal, Zdenek Eichler.
Application Number | 20150002403 13/927943 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50943126 |
Filed Date | 2015-01-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150002403 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dostal; Martin ; et
al. |
January 1, 2015 |
TOUCH SCREEN AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTING TOUCH SENSITIVE OBJECT
PLACEMENT THEREON
Abstract
A touch screen and method are provided for adjusting the
positioning of user controls such as touch sensing objects in
response adaptive conditions, for example, movement such as
turbulence, aircraft vibration, and/or G forces, in which larger or
spaced touch sensing objects would be beneficial.
Inventors: |
Dostal; Martin; (Olomouc,
CZ) ; Eichler; Zdenek; (Olomouc, CZ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Honeywell International Inc. |
Morristown |
NJ |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50943126 |
Appl. No.: |
13/927943 |
Filed: |
June 26, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/173 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/04886 20130101;
G08G 5/0021 20130101; G01C 23/00 20130101; G06F 3/0418
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/173 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/041 20060101
G06F003/041 |
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising: a system configured to determine an
adaptive condition; a touch screen having a first dimension in a
first direction and a second dimension in a second direction, and
configured to: display a container, having a third dimension in the
first direction that is less than the first dimension, and that
displays a plurality of touch sensitive objects aligned in the
first direction; and a touch screen controller configured to, when
the adaptive condition is sensed: expand the container further in
the first direction to a fourth dimension, if the fourth dimension
is less than the first dimension; expand the container in a second
direction and repositioning a portion of the objects in the second
direction if the fourth dimension is greater than the first
dimension.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the touch screen controller is
configured to: reposition alternating objects if the fourth
dimension is greater than the first dimension.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the touch screen controller is
further configured to: enlarge the objects when the adaptive
condition is determined
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the touch screen controller is
further configured to: enlarge the objects when the adaptive
condition is determined
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the system, in determining the
adaptive condition, is configured to: determine relative movement
between the touch screen and a user.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the system, in determining the
adaptive condition, is configured to: sense at least one of a
vibration, turbulence, and G forces.
7. An apparatus comprising: a sensor configured to sense movement;
a touch screen having a first dimension in a first direction and a
second dimension in a second direction, and configured to: display
a menu having a third dimension in the first direction that is less
than the first dimension, and that displays a plurality of touch
sensitive objects aligned in the first direction; and a touch
screen controller configured to, when the movement is sensed:
expand the menu further in the first direction to a fourth
dimension, if the fourth dimension is less than the first
dimension; expand the container in the second direction and
repositioning a portion of the objects in the second direction if
the fourth dimension would be greater than the first dimension.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the touch screen controller is
further configured to: enlarge the second objects when the movement
is sensed.
9. The touch screen of claim 7 wherein the touch screen controller
is further configured to: enable a function in response to the at
least one touch.
10. The touch screen of claim 7 wherein the touch sensitive objects
each comprise a boundary and the touch screen controller is
configured to: adjust the boundary.
11. The touch screen of claim 7 wherein the touch sensitive objects
each comprise a boundary and the touch screen controller is
configured to: enlarge the boundary.
12. The touch screen of claim 7 wherein the portion of the objects
repositioned comprise alternating objects if the fourth dimension
would greater than the first dimension.
13. The touch screen of claim 7 wherein the sensor is further
configured to: determine relative movement between the touch screen
and a user.
14. The touch screen of claim 7 wherein the sensor is further
configured to: determine at least one of a vibration, turbulence,
and a G force.
15. A method for modifying the size of a container on a touch
screen, the touch screen having a first dimension in a first
direction and a second dimension in a second direction, comprising:
determining an adaptive condition; displaying the container having
a third dimension in the first direction that is less than the
first dimension and having a plurality of touch sensitive objects
aligned in the first direction; expanding the container further in
the first direction to a fourth dimension, when the adaptive
condition is determined and if the fourth dimension is less than
the first dimension; and expanding the container in a second
direction and repositioning a portion of the objects in the second
direction when the adaptive condition is determined and if the
third dimension is greater than the first dimension.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising: repositioning
alternating objects if the fourth dimension is greater than the
first dimension.
17. The method of claim 15 further comprising: enlarging the
objects when the adaptive condition is determined
18. The method of claim 15 further comprising: enlarging the
objects when the adaptive condition is determined
19. The method of claim 15 wherein determining an adaptive
condition comprises: sensing relative movement between the touch
screen and a user.
20. The method of claim 15 wherein determining an adaptive
condition comprises: sensing at least one of a vibration,
turbulence, and G forces.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The exemplary embodiments described herein generally relate
to touch screens and more particularly to modifying touch sensitive
object placement.
BACKGROUND
[0002] World wide air traffic is projected to double every ten to
fourteen years and the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) forecasts world air travel growth of five percent per annum
until the year 2020. Such growth may have an influence on flight
performance and may increase the workload of the flight crew. One
such influence on flight performance has been the ability for the
flight crew to input data while paying attention to other matters
within and outside of the cockpit, especially during periods when
movement makes it difficult to touch the screen in the desired
manner or location. The ability to easily and quickly input data
can significantly improve situational awareness of the flight
crew.
[0003] Many electronic devices, such as aircraft flight deck
operational equipment, cursor control devices (CCDs), hard knobs,
switches, and hardware keyboards, are increasingly being replaced
by touch screens. A touch screen offers intuitive input for a
computer or other data processing devices, but may be affected by
movement of the touch screen and/or the pilot caused by, for
example, turbulence, aircraft vibration, and/or G forces.
[0004] However, owing to screen size, resolution limitations and
the amount of information presented on the screen, designing
interactive targets (touch sensitive objects) large enough to be
suitable for both normal and adverse conditions would cause
unwelcome reduction of effective screen space.
[0005] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a touch screen whose
input is adaptive to adverse conditions, for example, movement
caused by turbulence, G forces, and/or equipment vibrations.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the
exemplary embodiments will become apparent from the subsequent
detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field
and background.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0006] An apparatus comprising a system configured to determine an
adaptive condition; a touch screen having a first dimension in a
first direction and a second dimension in a second direction, and
configured to display a container, having a third dimension in the
first direction that is less than the first dimension, and that
displays a plurality of touch sensitive objects aligned in the
first direction; and a touch screen controller configured to, when
the adaptive condition is sensed; expand the container further in
the first direction to a fourth dimension, if the fourth dimension
is less than the first dimension; expand the container in a second
direction and repositioning a portion of the objects in the second
direction if the fourth dimension is greater than the first
dimension.
[0007] Another apparatus comprises a sensor configured to sense
movement; a touch screen having a first dimension in a first
direction and a second dimension in a second direction, and
configured to display a menu having a third dimension in the first
direction that is less than the first dimension, and that displays
a plurality of touch sensitive objects aligned in the first
direction; and a touch screen controller configured to, when the
movement is sensed, expand the menu further in the first direction
to a fourth dimension, if the fourth dimension is less than the
first dimension; expand the container in the second direction and
repositioning a portion of the objects in the second direction if
the fourth dimension would be greater than the first dimension.
[0008] A method is provided for modifying the size of a container
on a touch screen, the touch screen having a first dimension in a
first direction and a second dimension in a second direction,
comprising determining an adaptive condition; displaying the
container having a third dimension in the first direction that is
less than the first dimension and having a plurality of touch
sensitive objects aligned in the first direction; expanding the
container further in the first direction to a fourth dimension,
when the adaptive condition is determined and if the fourth
dimension is less than the first dimension; and expanding the
container in a second direction and repositioning a portion of the
objects in the second direction when the adaptive condition is
determined and if the third dimension is greater than the first
dimension.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The present invention will hereinafter be described in
conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like
numerals denote like elements, and
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an aircraft system for
presenting images on a display;
[0011] FIGS. 2 and 3 are representative diagrams of a touch screen
in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a representative diagram of a touch screen in
accordance with a second exemplary embodiment;
[0013] FIGS. 5 and 6 are representative diagrams of a touch screen
in accordance with a third exemplary embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a representative diagram of a touch screen in
accordance with a fourth exemplary embodiment; and
[0015] FIG. 8 is a flow chart in accordance with the exemplary
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] The following detailed description is merely illustrative in
nature and is not intended to limit the embodiments of the subject
matter or the application and uses of such embodiments. Any
implementation described herein as exemplary is not necessarily to
be construed as preferred or advantageous over other
implementations. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by
any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding
technical field, background, brief summary, or the following
detailed description.
[0017] Techniques and technologies may be described herein in terms
of functional and/or logical block components, and with reference
to symbolic representations of operations, processing tasks, and
functions that may be performed by various computing components or
devices. Such operations, tasks, and functions are sometimes
referred to as being computer-executed, computerized,
software-implemented, or computer-implemented. In practice, one or
more processor devices can carry out the described operations,
tasks, and functions by manipulating electrical signals
representing data bits at memory locations in the system memory, as
well as other processing of signals. The memory locations where
data bits are maintained are physical locations that have
particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic properties
corresponding to the data bits. It should be appreciated that the
various components shown in the figures may be realized by any
number of hardware, software, and/or firmware components configured
to perform the specified functions. For example, an embodiment of a
system or a component may employ various integrated circuit
components, e.g., memory elements, digital signal processing
elements, logic elements, look-up tables, or the like, which may
carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more
microprocessors or other control devices.
[0018] For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to
graphics and image processing, navigation, flight planning,
aircraft controls, aircraft data communication systems, and other
functional aspects of certain systems and subsystems (and the
individual operating components thereof) may not be described in
detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the
various figures contained herein are intended to represent
exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings
between the various elements. It should be noted that many
alternative or additional functional relationships or physical
connections may be present in an embodiment of the subject
matter.
[0019] A user interface, for example a touch screen, includes
containers, for example, rectangular areas such as menu buttons,
toggle buttons, radio buttons, check boxes buttons, or pull-down
menus that may be modified in accordance with the exemplary
embodiments. As used herein, touch screen refers to a display
sensitive to the touch or approach of another object, for example,
a finger or a stylus, by determining pressure from the object, a
resistance, a capacitance, and the like. These containers may
either increase (expand) or decrease (collapse) in size in response
to sensed adverse condition, for example, relative movement between
the user interface or the user, that makes it difficult for a user
to touch an intended object, that is sensitive to a touch, also
known as targets or user controls, during the adverse operation
conditions in order to improve a users' ability to reach the
desired target on the screen. The most prominent objects may be
increased to improve selectability of these interactive screen
targets. In some embodiments, the prominent objects are increased
in size at the expense of non-prominent objects, non-interactive
screen areas, or non-prominent screen areas.
[0020] The expanding of a container increases object spacing in a
container (the container itself is enlarged), and optionally may
increase the size of the objects. Spacing, and optionally size, of
the objects is increased in such axis or axes in which the increase
of size and spacing provides the highest benefit for the user.
Typically, this method increases height and vertical spacing
between user controls, because most controls have a larger size in
the horizontal axis than in the vertical axis. This is typically
the case of a pull down menu.
[0021] Generally, there are two directions in which a container may
be expanded, for example, vertical and horizontal when viewing a
screen. In one aspect of the exemplary embodiments, if a container
cannot be expanded in a first direction owing to insufficient space
in axis in which the expanded would be most beneficial for the
user, for example, vertical, the container is expanded in a second
direction, for example, horizontal. In this latter case of
horizontal expansion, a first portion of the user controls will
remain in the same position while a second portion of the user
controls will be moved in the second direction for a distance
(typically the width of the container in normal state) in order to
improve spacing between controls. Preferably, the objects of the
first portion and the objects of the second portion alternate,
wherein the second portion is spaced from the first portion. This
change in position of adjacent objects increases spacing between
objects to minimize selecting adjacent objects by mistake. In some
embodiments, the objects may also expand in size.
[0022] When the adverse condition has ceased, the container will
reduce back to its original shape.
[0023] The method may be applied to any display in, for example,
avionics or maritime controlled by a pointing device or touch, and
may be used on non-integrated Electronic Flight Bags with a touch
interface because they are typically not mounted in pilots' primary
view area in which the human's hand is not supported (therefore
more likely to be subject to movement) with an underlying surface
as it is with cursor control device, for example.
[0024] The boundaries of the touch sensitive object generally are
related to a symbol associated with the object. The touch screen
controller will modify the boundaries of the object to shift in
position so that it changes position in relation to the symbol.
These modifications may be either symmetric or asymmetric, with the
boundary being enlarged on only one edge or along only the
horizontal axis or the vertical axis, in response to the adverse
condition, thereby increasing the area defined by the object.
[0025] More specifically, in one exemplary embodiment, a touch
screen is provided for adjusting the positioning of user controls
or touch sensing objects in response adaptive conditions in which
larger touch sensing objects would be beneficial, for example, to
movement such as turbulence, aircraft vibration, and/or G forces.
The touch screen comprises a display face having a container
including a plurality of objects displayed and generally aligned in
a first direction. A touch screen controller, in response to the
adaptive condition, for example, sensed relative movement between
the touch screen and the user, is configured to expand the
container further in the first direction and enlarge the objects
within the container if there is sufficient space for the
expansion. If there is not sufficient room for expansion in the
first direction, the container expands in a second direction and
repositions second objects, preferably alternating from the first
objects, within the second menu in a second direction. A method of
operating the touch screen having a first dimension in a first
direction, and a second dimension in a second direction, including
determining an adaptive condition; displaying a container having a
third dimension in the first direction that is less than the first
dimension and having a plurality of touch sensitive objects aligned
in the first direction; expanding the container further in the
first direction to a fourth dimension, when the adaptive condition
is determined and if the fourth dimension is less than the first
dimension; and expanding the container in a second direction and
repositioning a portion of the objects in the second direction when
the adaptive condition is determined and if the third dimension is
greater than the first dimension.
[0026] Though the method and touch panel of the exemplary
embodiments may be used in any type of electronic device, for
example, vehicles and heavy machinery, and small handheld mobile
devices such as smart phones, the use in an aircraft system is
described as an example. Referring to FIG. 1, a flight deck display
system 100 includes a user interface 102, a processor 104, one or
more terrain databases 106 sometimes referred to as a Terrain
Avoidance and Warning System (TAWS), one or more navigation
databases 108, an adaptive (or adverse) condition sensor 124
avionic sensors 112, external data sources 114, one or more display
devices 116. The user interface 102 is in operable communication
with the processor 104 and is configured to receive input from a
user 109 (e.g., a pilot) and, in response to the user input,
supplies command signals to the processor 104. The user interface
102 may be any one, or combination, of various known user interface
devices including, but not limited to, one or more buttons,
switches, or knobs (not shown). In the depicted embodiment, the
user interface 102 includes a touch panel 107 and a touch panel
controller 111. The touch panel controller 111 provides drive
signals 113 to a touch panel 107, and a sense signal 115 is
provided from the touch panel 107 to the touch panel controller
111, which periodically provides a controller signal 117 of the
determination of a touch to the processor 104. The processor 104
interprets the controller signal 117, determines the application of
the digit on the touch panel 107, and provides, for example, a
controller signal 117 to the touch panel controller 111 and a
signal 119 to the display device 116. Therefore, the user 109 uses
the touch panel 107 to provide an input as more fully described
hereinafter.
[0027] The processor 104 may be implemented or realized with a
general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital
signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a
field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic
device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware
components, or any combination designed to perform the functions
described herein. A processor device may be realized as a
microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, or a state
machine. Moreover, a processor device may be implemented as a
combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital
signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of
microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a
digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration. In
the depicted embodiment, the processor 104 includes on-board RAM
(random access memory) 103, and on-board ROM (read-only memory)
105. The program instructions that control the processor 104 may be
stored in either or both the RAM 103 and the ROM 105. For example,
the operating system software may be stored in the ROM 105, whereas
various operating mode software routines and various operational
parameters may be stored in the RAM 103. The software executing the
exemplary embodiment is stored in either the ROM 105 or the RAM
103. It will be appreciated that this is merely exemplary of one
scheme for storing operating system software and software routines,
and that various other storage schemes may be implemented.
[0028] The memory 103, 105 may be realized as RAM memory, flash
memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a
removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known
in the art. In this regard, the memory 103, 105 can be coupled to
the processor 104 such that the processor 104 can be read
information from, and write information to, the memory 103, 105. In
the alternative, the memory 103, 105 may be integral to the
processor 104. As an example, the processor 104 and the memory 103,
105 may reside in an ASIC. In practice, a functional or logical
module/component of the display system 100 might be realized using
program code that is maintained in the memory 103, 105. For
example, the memory 103, 105 can be used to store data utilized to
support the operation of the display system 100, as will become
apparent from the following description.
[0029] No matter how the processor 104 is specifically implemented,
it is in operable communication with the terrain databases 106, the
navigation databases 108, and the display devices 116, and is
coupled to receive various types of inertial data from the sensors
112, and various other avionics-related data from the external data
sources 114. The processor 104 is configured, in response to the
inertial data and the avionics-related data, to selectively
retrieve terrain data from one or more of the terrain databases 106
and navigation data from one or more of the navigation databases
108, and to supply appropriate display commands to the display
devices 116. The display devices 116, in response to the display
commands, selectively render various types of textual, graphic,
and/or iconic information.
[0030] The adverse condition sensor 124 may be disposed within the
display device 116, on the user 109, or separate from the display
device 116 and the user 109. However the adverse condition sensor
110 is disposed, it senses adverse conditions, for example,
relative movement between the display device 116 and the user
109.
[0031] The terrain databases 106 include various types of data
representative of the terrain over which the aircraft is flying,
and the navigation databases 108 include various types of
navigation-related data. The sensors 112 may be implemented using
various types of inertial sensors, systems, and or subsystems, now
known or developed in the future, for supplying various types of
inertial data, for example, representative of the state of the
aircraft including aircraft speed, heading, altitude, and attitude.
The ILS 118 provides aircraft with horizontal (or localizer) and
vertical (or glide slope) guidance just before and during landing
and, at certain fixed points, indicates the distance to the
reference point of landing on a particular runway. The GPS receiver
122 is a multi-channel receiver, with each channel tuned to receive
one or more of the GPS broadcast signals transmitted by the
constellation of GPS satellites (not illustrated) orbiting the
earth.
[0032] The display devices 116, as noted above, in response to
display commands supplied from the processor 104, selectively
render various textual, graphic, and/or iconic information, and
thereby supplies visual feedback to the user 109. It will be
appreciated that the display device 116 may be implemented using
any one of numerous known display devices suitable for rendering
textual, graphic, and/or iconic information in a format viewable by
the user 109. Non-limiting examples of such display devices include
various cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, and various flat panel
displays such as various types of LCD (liquid crystal display) and
TFT (thin film transistor) displays. The display devices 116 may
additionally be implemented as a panel mounted display, or any one
of numerous known technologies. It is additionally noted that the
display devices 116 may be configured as any one of numerous types
of aircraft flight deck displays. For example, it may be configured
as a multi-function display, a horizontal situation indicator, or a
vertical situation indicator, just to name a few. In the depicted
embodiment, however, one of the display devices 116 is configured
as a primary flight display (PFD).
[0033] In operation, the display device 116 is also configured to
process the current flight status data for the host aircraft. In
this regard, the sources of flight status data generate, measure,
and/or provide different types of data related to the operational
status of the host aircraft, the environment in which the host
aircraft is operating, flight parameters, and the like. In
practice, the sources of flight status data may be realized using
line replaceable units (LRUs), transducers, accelerometers,
instruments, sensors, and other well known devices. The data
provided by the sources of flight status data may include, without
limitation: airspeed data; groundspeed data; altitude data;
attitude data, including pitch data and roll data; yaw data;
geographic position data, such as GPS data; time/date information;
heading information; weather information; flight path data; track
data; radar altitude data; geometric altitude data; wind speed
data; wind direction data; etc. The display device 116 is suitably
designed to process data obtained from the sources of flight status
data in the manner described in more detail herein.
[0034] A touch screen is disclosed having at least one container
configured to display a plurality of symbols. Symbols as used
herein are defined to include alphanumeric characters, icons,
signs, words, terms, phrases, and menu items. A particular symbol
is selected by sensing the application (touch) of a digit, such as
a finger or a stylus, to a touch-sensitive object associated with
that symbol. In some exemplary embodiments, the digit may be
swiped, or moved, in a particular direction to enable a desired
function. Each display region including a symbol has a
touch-sensing object associated therewith for sensing the
application and/or movement of the digit or digits.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 2, a touch screen 200 in accordance with a
first exemplary embodiment includes a face 202 displaying a
container, or menu 204 for example, including four objects 206,
207, 208, 209. The objects are sensitive to a touch for selecting a
function and typically contain an icon representative of the
function (shown for example, as the letters A, B, C, D,
respectively). Objects 206, 207, 208, 209 (shown as dotted lines)
are positioned with respect to the icons A, B, C, and D,
respectively, and may include a solid outline (not shown), such as
a rectangle or circle, surrounding the icons A, B, C, D. The solid
outline preferable would cover the same area as the objects 206,
207, 208, 209, or be slightly within. The objects 206, 207, 208,
209 are defined by selected pixels as determined by software in the
processor 104. A touching of one of the objects 206, 207, 208, 209
is communicated to the processor 104 and the function associated
with the respective symbol 206, 207, 208, 209 will be selected.
[0036] However, when the touch screen 200 and/or the user is
subject to adverse conditions, for example, turbulence, G forces,
and/or equipment vibrations as sensed by the system determining
adaptive conditions 124, it becomes difficult for the user to touch
the intended object since the intended object (the entire touch
screen 200) is moving in relation to the user.
[0037] In accordance with the first exemplary embodiment, when the
adverse conditions are determined (sensed) by the system 124, the
container 204 expands in a first direction (vertically as shown in
FIG. 3) to create the container 304 and the spacing between the
objects 306, 307, 308, 309 is increased, thereby increasing the
probability of the user being able to touch the intended object
306, 307, 308, 309. Optionally, and in accordance with a second
exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, the objects 406, 407, 408, 409 are
increased in size over the objects 306, 307, 308, 309 of FIG.
3.
[0038] If, as shown with the touch screen 500 of FIG. 5, the
container 505 contains a number of objects 506, 507, 508, 509, 510,
511, 512 are such that the container 504 is unable to expand in a
first direction (vertically as shown) and be displayed on the touch
screen 500, the container 504 expands in a second direction
(horizontal as shown) to create the container 604 (FIG. 6) and a
portion of the icons, for example icons 507, 509. 511 are spaced in
the second direction from a second portion of the icons, for
example, 506, 508, 510, and 512. Preferably, alternating objects
506, 507, 508, 509, 510, 511, 512 are repositioned in the second
direction as shown. Optionally, and in accordance with a fourth
exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7, the icons 706, 707, 708, 709, 710,
711, 712 are increased in size over the objects 506, 507, 508, 509,
510, 511, 512 of FIG. 6.
[0039] FIG. 8 is a flow chart that illustrates a touch screens
process suitable for use with a flight deck display system such as
the user interface 102. Process 800 represents an implementation of
a method for selecting symbols on an onboard display element of a
host aircraft. The various tasks performed in connection with
process 800 may be performed by software, hardware, firmware, or
any combination thereof. For illustrative purposes, the following
description of process 800 may refer to elements mentioned above in
connection with FIGS. 2 through 7. In practice, portions of process
800 may be performed by different elements of the described system,
e.g., a processor or a display element. It should be appreciated
that process 800 may include any number of additional or
alternative tasks, the tasks shown in FIG. 8 need not be performed
in the illustrated order, and process 800 may be incorporated into
a more comprehensive procedure or process having additional
functionality not described in detail herein. Moreover, one or more
of the tasks shown in FIG. 8 could be omitted from an embodiment of
the process 800 as long as the intended overall functionality
remains intact.
[0040] Referring to the flow chart of FIG. 8, an adaptive condition
of a touch screen is determined 802, the touch screen having a
first dimension in a first direction and a second dimension in a
second direction. A container is displayed 804 having a third
dimension in the first direction that is less than the first
dimension and having a plurality of touch sensitive objects aligned
in the first direction. The container is further expanded 806 in
the first direction to a fourth dimension when the adaptive
condition is determined and if the fourth dimension is less than
the first dimension. The container is expanded in the second
direction and a portion of the objects are repositioned 808 in the
second direction when the adaptive condition is determined and if
the third dimension is greater than the first dimension.
[0041] While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented
in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated
that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be
appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments
are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope,
applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way.
Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those
skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an
exemplary embodiment of the invention, it being understood that
various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of
elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing
from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended
claims.
* * * * *